Panel construction



June 24, 1947. G', H ENKE 4 2,422,837

PANEL CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 50, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 l George II.lenire c June 24, 1947. GH. H. LENKE PANEL CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 3o,1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 56 'ff/ff nz. r.. s

a 96ml lll d June 24, 1947. G, H, L ENKE 2,422,837

` PANEL CONSTRUCTION Filed NOV. 30, 1945v 3SheebS-Shee 5 Elma/who@George Elenke I 'v v @www Patented June 24, 1947 UNIT-so STATES PATENToptics PANEL CONSTRUCTION George Lanka Elmhurst, 111-, assignor of @nefhalf to Julius J. Ohlis, Oak Park, Ill.

` Application November 30, 1945, Serial No. 631,910

(Cl. S-d6) 7 Claims. l

This invention relates to light-transmitting panels, and has foritsobject to provide a construction which` is simple in fabrication andless costly tomanufacture than those heretofore proposed.

With these and other objects in View, the invention resides in the noveldetails of construction-and combinationsl of parts as will be disclosed`more Afully* hereinafter and particularly covered-by the claims.

R'eferringto the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification, and in which like numeralsdesignate like parts in all theviews- Fig. ll is a diagrammatic representation of a panel comprising aplurality of glazing units which may be prefabricated at the factory,for example, and sent to the job for installatonas a unit;

Figa-2 is a vertical sectional view of a panel construction comprisingdouble glazing, and made in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective View of a joint formed by twointersecting ribs ci the metallic framework o f the panel;

Figs. i and-5 arel vertical sectional views 1of modifications of thedouble glazing panel construction illustrated'in Fig. 2,;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a panel provided with singleglazing and comprising a hollow rib construction somewhat similar tothat illustrated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 a sectional view taken as on the line 'l--1 of Fig. 6 and lookingin the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the construction which may beemployed as in the case of a roof opening of such large dimensions thata plurality of skylights, or panel units such as illustrated in Fig. 6,are to be used, this gure illustrating the joint between twoof suchskylights or panels:

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional View of a further modification of thepanel construction shown in FigJZ; and

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view of a modi- 'cation of the panelconstruction illustrated in Fig. 6.

'In the interests of simplicity, this invention hereinafter will Abedescribed as applied to skylights, but it is to be understood that theprinciples involved are equally applicable to the construction ofbuilding walls and/or partitions. According to` this invention, there isprovided an openingA in the roof of a building into or over whichopening a skylight is desired to be placed,

said skylight being of the type which becomes a more or less permanentpar-t Vof the roof and which is relatively fixed as distinguished fromother skylight constructions which provide ventilation as well aspassage of light rays, and therefore the Skylight of this invention ismore or less horizontally disposed as an entity although it is tobeunderstood that someinolination may be given to the skylight ifdesired. In such roof construction, the roof opening usually isY definedby an upstanding `curb and/or wall extending about the periphery of theopening and upon which the skylight is mounted. Further, but notnecessarily, the such curband/or wall maybe of poured-concrete.

This invention contemplates the prefabrication of a skylight unit, ofoverall dimensions corresponding to the roof opening and itscircumscribing curb, wherefore the skylight in its complete formationcan be made at the factory and shipped to the job for immediateinstallation, or conversely the skylights may be made in standard sizesby the manufacturer, and the roof opening with its curb designed by thearchitect with dimensions for receiving a standard prefabricatedskylight.

In skylight construction, the individual glass panes and/ or hollowglass blocks maybe of dierent sizes and shapes, but usually in any oneskylight the plurality of glasses are individually of the same size andshape, wherefore adjacent glasses may-be vseparated by a rib extendingfrom one side of the skylight to an opposite side, with intersectingribs running transversely and thus dividing the entire skylightstructure into a grid comprising a plurality of light admitting cells,the outermost ends of the ribs terminating in and secu-red to anencircling frame construction.

Such a skylight is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 1 wherein thenumeral 2 designates one side frame member, 3 the opposite side framemember, 4 and 5 parallel frame members disposed transversely of themembers '2 and '3 and joined theretofat their ends to create acompletely closed frame. At 6 and 1 are indicated ribs-which areparallel to each other and to the side frame members 4 and 5, said ribsbeing -contnuous between the frame side members 2 and 3; and intercostalribs such as 8, 9 and I0 are provided, the ends of which terminate inand are supported by the continuous ribs B and 'l and/or the side framemembers 4 and 5, said intercostal ribsv Abeing parallel to the sideframe members 2 and 3.

Hence the frame isclivided by all of the ribs into a plurality of .lightadmitting cells each of which is generally identified by the numeral I2and is adapted to receive therein a glass as will be described later.The arrangement and number of the ribs may be varied as desired, but allof the ribs are substantially of the same height from top to bottom,with their top surfaces lying in a common plane, the such height beingin accordance with the dimension of a glass insert comprising a portionof the skylight glazing,- the such insert being as desired and either`in" the form of a single pane of glassor o f a hollow glass blo-ck, andthe term glass is intended to cover any material suitable for skylight-,constructions and which is capable of transmitting rays of light.

According to the construction shown in Fig. 2, the frame side member 5and the continuous rib 'I, heretofore described, are indicatedy indetail at I5 and I6 respectively andas being hollow, formed either bycasting, moulding, extrusion or other methods including welding ofindividual sheets, the frame and the rib in transverse section beingrgenerally rectangular and assembled with their bottom walls in a commonplane and the top walls of all ribs being in another common plane, whichlatter plane includes the shelf portion I'I of the frame. The bottomwall of each rib is extended laterally as at I 8, with the outer edgeportion thereof upturned as at I9 to provide not only a seat for thelower surface of a hollow block, generally identified by the numeral 20,but also a gutter or pocket for retaining sealing compound. In similarmanner the bottom wall of each frame side member is extended as at 2linwardly of the frame, and has its edge portion correspondingly upturnedas at 22 to provide a similar block seat and pocket. It is to beunderstood that the extreme edges of all such upturned portions will liesubstantially in a common plane so that when the skylight is assembled,the hollow blocks may be inserted in the cells I2 and abut, rest upon,or be supported by said seats in substantial horizontal alignment witheach other as clearly shown in the drawing.

In Fig. 3 there is illustrated a typical joint be tween the ribs, thecontinuous rib such as 'I receiving in surface abutment the ends ofintercostal ribs such as 8 and 9, the ribs being secured together, asalso to the frame side members, preferably by welding which may beapplied as at 25 at the top surface edges thereof, and welding such asindicated at 26 which may be applied in the lower regions of the jointmade by the meeting sides of said ribs and members. The lowermost endportion of the intercostal rib may be cut suitably to accommodate thecontinuous rib and a frame side member.

When double glazing is desired, and as illustrated in Fig. 2, thevertical height of the ribs is made greater than the correspondingdimension of the hollow block 20, and strips 30 of cushioning materialsuch as saturated felt, cork or the like are provided over the topsurfaces of the ribs and shelf I'I of the frame, and above said stripsthere is disposed an auxiliary frame to hold the plurality of glasspanes constituting the double glazing.

Thisv auxiliary frame comprises rib portions which are generally ofchannel or U shape as indicated at 3I with their upper edge portionsturned inwardly as shown to assist in the retention of packing and/orsealing compound generally identified by the numeral 32. The bottom wallof this channel-like rib structure is laterally extended with upturnededges providing the seats such as 33 for the bottom surfaces of theglass panes 34. Thus it will be seen that this rib struc ture is quitesimilar to the construction of thev main ribs such as I6, and it maycomprise continuous and. intercostal members which are assembled andsecured in substantially the same manner as are the corresponding partsof the main frame. This auxiliary frame may be secured to the main frameas by bolts or screw4 fasteners such as 35 inserted through thechannel-like ribs 3| and extending through the cushioning strips 30 forthreaded engagement with` the top wall of the main frame ribs I5.

vThe outside member 36, constituting the pe riphery of the auxiliaryframe, is of general L- shape in vertical section, with its lower leglying in the same plane with the bottom wall of the channel-like ribs3I, and having the edge portion of said leg upturned to provide a paneseatwhich is a substantial duplicate of the pane seat` 33 provided bysaid ribs. The light-transmitting cells, formed by the intersecting ribsof both the: main and auxiliary frames, are of such size as toaccommodate their respective glasses with a surrounding space betweenthe sides of a glass and the vertical walls of the encompassing cell,which space is for the reception of sealing compound such as 32,

Each frame side member of the main frame, at the end of the shelf I'I,has an upstanding wall 40 of such height that its upper edge will liesubstantially in the plane of the top surfaces of the auxiliary frameand its glass panes 34 when the skylight is completely assembled, andthe space between this wall and the outer members such as 35 of theauxiliary frame is likewise filled with sealing compound, said compoundextending downward to the top surface of the cushioning strip 30 andeffectively preventing the transmission of air and/or liquid to or fromthe space 4I between the upper and lower glazings. The glass blocks aresimilarly cemented in position in their light cells by sealing compoundextending down to and into the pocket formed by the seats such as I9 and22 created by the upturned edges of the bottom walls of the ribs andside members of the main frame. The cushioning strips, due to theinherent yieldability of the material thereof, will compensate for theexpansion and contraction of the air in the space 4I due to changes intemperature, wherefore such air is confined in said space until theglazing seal becomes broken, either intentionally or accidentally, andhence said space is an insulating chamber with respect to temperatures.

In order to complete the skylight structure, a plate-like member 42 maybe secured to or formed integrally with the outermost side wall of themain frame, which member extends upwardly and has its topmost portionin-turned as at 43 to provide, with the wall member 40, a pocket orgutter-like chamber 44 which may serve to conduct liquids such as rainaway from the skylight or which may be lled with sealing compound, orwhich may receive an edge of a sheet' of covering material or flashingWhere flashing is desired and as will be more specifically describedhereinai'ter.

The modification illustrated in Fig. 4 provides for double glazingcomprising the lower hollow glass blocks such as 2U and the upper solidglass panes such as 34 with the insulating air space 4I therebetween.The chief departure in construction from that shown in Fig. 2 resides inthe arrangement of parts in the peripheral portion of the skylight.

That is to say, the frame side member i5 is' devoid; i.' thevertical'wall 40 and the angul'arly form-ed shelfA l1: heretoforedescribed.l the entire top wall ta' of this member being planar andconstituting the support for the cushioning strip 310. Also, theoutermember 3610i the auxiliary frame is secured. in position through.the instrumentality of a clip 5i overlying a iiange` of said member andheld by afastener such. as the bolt 3'5 passing through thel cushioningstrip and threaded into orot'herwi'se engaging thetop wall Etilrof theframe side member I'5.

In; '5 there isA illustrated a construction wherein. the upperglazi-ngis supported by the lower glazing.. In other words the main frame issubstantially the same as that heretofore described with respect toFigs. 2 and 4, .wherefore the same numerals l5, l5, i8, I9, 2l), 2l, 22,30, 3'2, 311, M, 42,' d3', 1M and 50 have been applied to represent thesame or` substantially the same construction. The unitary auxiliary.frame is replacedv by a plurality of' polygonal shields, a shield foreach solid glass pane, said shield. extending down into alight-transmitting cell land being supported by the hollow glass blockin thatV cell, the said pane being disposed within the upper portion ofthe shield, as should be clear from the drawing.

Each shield has an L-shaped upper portion comprising a verticall wall 55and a horizontal inwardly extending wall 56, these two walls forming anangular pocket into which the lower edges of the glasspane extend. rFhelower portion of the shield is stilt-shaped, and comprises a verticalwall 5l, the upper edge of which extends slightly above the wall 55 toprovide a seat for the pane, and a horizontal inwardly extending wall 5Sadapted to rest upon the upper edge surface ofthe-hollow block 20, thesaid vertical wall 5l extending slightly below thewall 58 and adapted torelatively closely fit the side edge surface of said block. Each shieldhas as many side-sas the pane and block with which it is associated, andall of the sides of the shield are suitably joined at the corners of itspolygonal shape, as :u

by welding.

Each shield is of a size, naturally, to fit within the cell defined bythe intersecting ribs i6 and frame side member I5, but ia slight spaceis provided-therebetween, as well as between adjacent shields, toreceive the sealing compound 32 commonly employed in skylightconstructions.

The modication shown in Fig. 6- provides for single glazing only, andcomprises hollow frame side members and hollow ribs which areindividually `formed in plural parts which are intertted and securedtogether as by weldingduring the :assembly of the skylight. Morespeciically, each rib comprises two parts `6i] and 6| which, whenassembled as shown, provides a hollow rectangular rib of the generalcharacteristics of those heretofore described. To assist in thesecurement of these two parts together, the edge portions such as B2 ofone part are complementally formed with respect to the correspondingedge portions such as 53 of the other part, for intertting relation,which relation may or not, as desired, also lbe interlocking as shown.

One of the parts of each rib is provided with a separator strip orshield such as 64 extending upwardly from the top of such rib anddisposed substantially centrally of the completely assembled rib. Theupper end of this shield preferably is formed with laterally extendingflanges as shown to assist in .the retention of the sealing `secure theribs and frame members.

compound. 32, and the overall vertical height.` of the rib plus saidshield is such that said upper end. terminates substantially in theplane of the top surfaces olY the adjacent' hollow glass blocks 2oconstituting the. glazing.

The frame side member is similarly formed of two parts 65 and `lwhoseedges are also complementally formed for interfitting and/orinterlocking relation,A one of said parts likewise provided with iashieldf'l which is. substantially a duplicate of the shield 64. However,the outer part such' as E15 of this frame member has its vertical wall'extended above the top thereof, with an inturnedupper edge portion, in amanner substantially the same as was indicated by the numerals d2' andd3 in Fi'g. 4. Flashing GBL of any suitable and/or required type may beapplied over the sides of' the skylight and the outer side sur-A faceofthe curb wall (i9` of the skylight opening, the upper edges of: suchhashing being extended over the inturned` member 53 and into the spaceorpock'et formed thereby with the shield `El, and anchored in suchpocket by any convenientmeans including a-sphaltic or other packing laswell as sealing compound.

In Figs. 6., '7l and 8 there are shown reinforcing means for the spotand/or tack welds used 'to In other words,l plates, blocks or otherstiff and rigid suitable means indicated 'by the numeral 'l0 areprovided. on the inner surfaces ofi said ribs and frame membersatthoselocations where the welding is to be performed.

Fig. 8 illustrates a construction which may be used where the skylightopening is of such a large area that plural skylights are required tocover the opening. That is to say one skylight is represented as havingthe side frame member TI, the other skylight having the side framemember i2, the two skylights being closely adjacent each other with aspace 73, therebetween which is filled with asphaltic or other packing,and/or sealing compound. The bottom walls of these side frame membersare provided with outward extensions having upturned edge portions asindicated by the numerals `'I4 and l5, and these said portions arecovered by an inverted channel-like strip 16. The upper portions ofthese side frame members are constructed similarly to those shown inFig. 6, wherefore flashing lll may be applied over the joint space 13,with the edges of such iiashing secured in the side frame pockets asabove described with reference to the flashing 68 of said Fig. 6.

The mod iiication illustrated in Fig. 9 is for double glazing andcomprises a combination of the structural features heretofore disclosed.That is to say, the sideirame member is substantially a duplicate otthat shown in Fig.` 6, except for height. Each rib is generally similarto the rib i6 of Fig. 2, except it is formed in tWo parts such as .Siland Bl with intertting edge portions such as`53 as shown in Fig. 6. Theupper glazing and its mounting is substantially a duplicate of thatshown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 10 there is provided a construction `for single glazing whereinthe side frame member is substantially a duplicate of that shown inFig.6, but the rib differs from the ribV of Fig. 6 in that it is made in onepiece instead of two pieces. Additionally, this construction differsfrom the `previously described structures, in the provision ofreinforcing tie rods such as 8B which are disposed within theribs andwhich extend from one side frame member to the opposite side framemember;

one or more tie rods may be in a rib. Where such tie ,rods are used, itwill be necessary to have the side frame members made in two parts, inorder that the nuts such as 8| may be actuated in the absence of theouter one of the frame parts.

From the foregoing it will therefore be seen that by this inventionthere is provided generically a light-transmitting panel constructioncomprising framing and glazing, the framing comprising closed hollowmembers establishing a light-transmitting cell, said members havingprojections such as 22 extending inwardly of said cell at one facethereof, the glazing comprising a light-transmitting hollow blockdisposed in said cell and abutting said projection, thereby covering asingle cell construction with single glazing. More specifically theinvention comprises framing members the walls of which are formed ofsheet metal by any convenient method, the bottom wall being extended toprovide the block supporting projections 22, and there being providedadditional projections such as 49 and 42 at the opposite face of thecell, which additional projections establish the pocket 44.

The term panel is also capable of covering a larger structure comprisinga plurality of cells formed by intersecting closed hollow ribs which,together with the outer frame members such as I5, provide a grid intoeach cell of which is fitted a glass block, In addition, the outer framemembers may be formed, as also each rib, in two intertting parts, thisintertting relation with respect to the outer frame members beingparticularly ladvantageous to permit access to tie rods which may bedisposed for reinforcing purposes in each rib, the nuts such as 8|constituting, with a wall of the outer frame member, an anchorage forthe tie rods.

Where double glazing is desired, the invention contemplates theprovision of a shield such as shown in Fig. 5, encompassing a glazingsuch as the solid pane 34 in any one cell, said shield having inwardlyextending flanges 58 adjacent its lower edge which are adapted to restupon the upper surface of the hollow block 20, there being provided inthe upper portion of said shield a pocket into which the side edgeportions of the pane 34 are received, thereby resulting in the supportby the block 20 of said pane and its shield in spaced relation toprovide the insulating air chamber 4| between the two glazings.According to the construction shown in Fig. 2 the second or upperglazing is disposed, as individual panes, in each of a plurality ofcells formed by intersecting separator elements of general U-shape andsecured to the ribs of the main frame in spaced relation, likewise toprovide the insulating air chamber 4|. In all modifications of theinvention sealing compound or its equivalent is provided to preventpassage of air and liquids, and of course the hollow blocks 20 have deadair spaces therein which add to the insulation value of the air chamber4| in the double glazed construction.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details ofconstruction and arrangements of parts without departing from the spiritof this invention, wherefore it is desired not to be limited to theexact foregoing disclosure except as may be required by the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A light-transmitting panel construction having heat and soundinsulating characteristics, comprising framing and glazing, the framingcomprising closed hollow members establishing a light-transmitting cell,said members having projections extending inwardly of said cell at oneface thereof and additional projections at the opposite face of saidcell, the latter projections establishing a pocket for receiving andretaining sealing means around the periphery of the glazing, the glazingcomprising a light-transmitting hollow block disposed in said cell andsupported by said rst mentioned projections.

2. A light-transmitting panel construction having heat and soundinsulating characteristics, comprising a grid and glazing, the gridcomprising closed hollow frame members and intersecting closed hollowribs establishing a plurality of lighttransmitting cells, the bottomwall of each frame member and rib extended inwardly of a cell andprovided with a flange, reinforcing means for said grid comprising a tierod disposed in each rib and terminating in a frame member, the glazingcomprising a light-transmitting hollow block disposed in each cell andsupported by said anges.

3. A light-transmitting panel construction comprising a grid andglazing, the grid comprising closed hollow frame members andintersecting closed hollow ribs establishing a plurality oflight-transmitting cells, each frame member formed in two interiittingparts one removable from the other, the bottom wall of each frame memberand rib extended inwardly of a cell and provided with a flange, theglazing comprising a light-transmitting hollow block disposed in eachcell and supported by said flanges.

4. A light-transmitting panel construction comprising a grid andglazing, the grid comprising closed hollow frame members andintersecting closed hollow ribs establishing a plurality oflighttransmitting cells, each frame member formed in two interttingparts one removable from the other, the bottom wall of each frame memberand rib extended inwardly of a cell and provided with a flange, a tierod disposed in each rib and anchored to one of the parts of a framemember, the such anchorage being accessible upon removal of the otherpart of the frame member, the glazing comprising a light-transmittinghollow block disposed in each cell and supported by said flanges.

5. A light-transmitting panel construction comprising framing and doubleglazing, the framing comprising members establishing a lighttransmittingcell, said members having projections extending inwardly of said cell, aglazing disposed in said cell and supported by said projections, asecond glazing and a shield therefor, said shield having inwardlyextending flanges adjacent its lower edge establishing a lower angularpocket formation embracing the upper edge portions of said rst mentionedglazing, said shield further provided with an upper angular pocketformation to receive and to support said second glazing in spacedrelation to said rst glazing, and sealing means for said glazings.

6. A light-transmitting panel construction comprising framing and doubleglazing, the framing comprising members establishing a lighttransmittingcell, said members having projections extending inwardly of said cell, aglazing disposed in said cell and supported by said projections, asecond glazing and a shield therefor, said shield having a flange at itslower extremity extending inwardly relative the cell and resting uponthe upper edge portions of said first mentioned glazing, said shieldfurther provided with an upper angular pocket formation to receive andto support said second glazing in spaced relation 9 to said firstglazing, and sealing means for said glazings.

7. A light-transmitting panel construction comprising double glazing anda grid for each glazing, the grid for the first glazing comprisingclosed hollow frame members and intersecting closed hollow ribsestablishing a plurality of lighttransmitting cells, the grid for thesecond glazing comprising a frame member and intersecting U- shapedseparator elements establishing a corresponding plurality oflight-transmitting cells, the bottom wall of each frame member, each riband each separator extended inwardly of a cell and provided with aflange, a glazing disposed in each cell and supported by said flanges,each separator disposed in registry with a rib and secured thereto inspaced relation to provide an insulating air chamber between theglazings of each cell, and sealing means for said grids.

GEORGE H. LENKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,182,852 Mulford Dec. 12, 19392,199,244 Mulford Apr. 30, 1940 2,198,450 Chertkof Apr. 23, 19401,971,160 Lenke Aug. 21, 1934

